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What ISO to use for helicopter photos and boat ride Kauai?

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Wayne Reibold

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I'm going to be in Kauai in a couple of weeks (can't wait!) with my E-20 that I just purchased. I plan on doing a helicopter ride as well as a boat ride along the Na Pali coast of Kauai.

Can anyone make any recommendations of what ISO for the E-20 would be appropriate for these type of situations, balancing pros/cons of noise with higher ISOs and still wanting a reasonably sharp (not blurry due to camera movement) picture considering I won't be able to use a tripod on either excursion? Or possibly advice on putting the camera in shutter priority mode and letting me know what shutter speed would be appropriate considering the movement of the helicopter/boat and no tripod?

As I said, I just got my E-20 and haven't even been able to play with it yet so I'm looking for advice from those who know about tricky situations like I describe and what would work best with the E-20.

Thanks!
 
Howdy Wayne,

I've neither been on a boat or in a helicopter with my E10, but I was in the cockpit of a L1011 once with it, and I just left the ISO on 80.

I'd have to say it would be best for you to just play it by ear on what to use, once you get there. You may have cloudy days where 160 would be better, or your days may be filled with sunshine where you can just stay at 80. :o)

And remember this. Just because there's noise in the picture, doesn't make it a bad image. :o)

I remember hearing this one photographer repeat some words of his old teacher which were something like, " If it's a good picture, no one will notice the grain. "

--
Vance.

http://users.ev1.net/~txcowboy
http://pub57.ezboard.com/bthedigitaldinguscommunity
 
I saved this link and was actually going to ask my boss tomorrow...he does shoots from a helicopter about once a month.

But, since it isn't tomorrow yet, here is my best guess. This is based on shooting sports, as they have fast erractic moving subjects that require you to freeze them with a high shutter speed as well. I would leave your ISO at 80 unless it is cloudy (like completely overcast and gray), and shoot in Shutter priority mode. Set your shutter to 1/320 or 1/400 to start, which will probably give you an aperture of f/8 or so depending on the brightness (or darkness) value of your subject. After a couple of shots, review them and zoom in on them to check for motion blur (look at the edge of a building - if there are 2 identical edges that are in slightly different places in the image, it is most likely motion blur). I am pretty sure that 1/400th second shutter will freeze most things from a helicopter, so long as you aren't diving or swooping or doing anything like that.

And if you find your aperture too wide because it is cloudy out, or because you are shooting something in the shade, then go up to ISO 160. But otherwise try to stay at ISO 80, and at least 1/320 if not 1/400th second shutter.

--
Matt Chase
http://www.matthewchase.com

::::thud:::: zzZZZzzZZzzzzZzzzzzz
 
Thanks Matt, that's exactly the kind of advice I was looking for.
Matt Chase said:
I saved this link and was actually going to ask my boss
tomorrow...he does shoots from a helicopter about once a month.

But, since it isn't tomorrow yet, here is my best guess. This is
based on shooting sports, as they have fast erractic moving
subjects that require you to freeze them with a high shutter speed
as well. I would leave your ISO at 80 unless it is cloudy (like
completely overcast and gray), and shoot in Shutter priority mode.
Set your shutter to 1/320 or 1/400 to start, which will probably
give you an aperture of f/8 or so depending on the brightness (or
darkness) value of your subject. After a couple of shots, review
them and zoom in on them to check for motion blur (look at the edge
of a building - if there are 2 identical edges that are in slightly
different places in the image, it is most likely motion blur). I
am pretty sure that 1/400th second shutter will freeze most things
from a helicopter, so long as you aren't diving or swooping or
doing anything like that.

And if you find your aperture too wide because it is cloudy out, or
because you are shooting something in the shade, then go up to ISO
160. But otherwise try to stay at ISO 80, and at least 1/320 if not
1/400th second shutter.

--
Matt Chase
http://www.matthewchase.com

::::thud:::: zzZZZzzZZzzzzZzzzzzz
Click to expand...
 
I had my E10 in a speed boat a few weekends ago. Two problems you may encounter. 1) Constant motion waves (or the helicoptor vibrations) may make it hard for the E10 to focus correctly, so try to use smaller apertures to increase DOF. I had a fair amount of soft, though not totally OOF, images, though this could be from many factors including the use of infinity focus (which is soft) and motion from the waves causing camera shake. 2) Because of the constant motion, be sure to use a faster shutter speed than you normaly would.

In the end, it's going to be a judgement call, but it won't hurt to use ISO 160 so you can shoot at faster shutter speeds with a smaller aperture -- as long as there is enough light to properly expose the scene (if not, noise from higher ISO's could be a problem).
Wayne Reibold said:
I'm going to be in Kauai in a couple of weeks (can't wait!) with my
E-20 that I just purchased. I plan on doing a helicopter ride as
well as a boat ride along the Na Pali coast of Kauai.

Can anyone make any recommendations of what ISO for the E-20 would
be appropriate for these type of situations, balancing pros/cons of
noise with higher ISOs and still wanting a reasonably sharp (not
blurry due to camera movement) picture considering I won't be able
to use a tripod on either excursion? Or possibly advice on putting
the camera in shutter priority mode and letting me know what
shutter speed would be appropriate considering the movement of the
helicopter/boat and no tripod?

As I said, I just got my E-20 and haven't even been able to play
with it yet so I'm looking for advice from those who know about
tricky situations like I describe and what would work best with the
E-20.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
--
dgrogers

http://www.pbase.com/drog
 
Wayne,

I personally have never had the experience of shooting in a helicopter, however, all the ISO advice given here seems sound. One thing also to remember...wear dark clothing or the light color of your clothing will reflect on the window and throw off your focusing and metering.
Enjoy the ride!
digiBill
Wayne Reibold said:
I'm going to be in Kauai in a couple of weeks (can't wait!) with my
E-20 that I just purchased. I plan on doing a helicopter ride as
well as a boat ride along the Na Pali coast of Kauai.

Can anyone make any recommendations of what ISO for the E-20 would
be appropriate for these type of situations, balancing pros/cons of
noise with higher ISOs and still wanting a reasonably sharp (not
blurry due to camera movement) picture considering I won't be able
to use a tripod on either excursion? Or possibly advice on putting
the camera in shutter priority mode and letting me know what
shutter speed would be appropriate considering the movement of the
helicopter/boat and no tripod?

As I said, I just got my E-20 and haven't even been able to play
with it yet so I'm looking for advice from those who know about
tricky situations like I describe and what would work best with the
E-20.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
Just as an update, I asked my boss and he said he usually tries to get 1/400th second at 5.6 or so when he is shooting from a helicopter. So unless it is an overcast day, I think you should be able to pull that off with the E-10 without much problem without going above ISO 80. But if it is cloudy, don't hesitate to go up to ISO 160, because a noisy shot is a lot better than a blurry shot!

--
Matt Chase
http://www.matthewchase.com

::::thud:::: zzZZZzzZZzzzzZzzzzzz
 
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